Düsseldorf-Unterbach

Unterbach was a local borough of Erkrath, Germany, until 1975, when it became an urban borough of Düsseldorf in a local reorganisation. A portion of the pre-1975 Unterbach remains as the borough of Erkrath-Unterfeldhaus. The eastern end of the borough of Düsseldorf-Vennhausen was attached to Unterbach during the reorganisation since it was already culturally associated with Unterbach.

The name of the local part comes of from the knights van Unterbeke, whose seat was the House of Unterbach - an old water castle, first mentioned as seat of the knights in 1169. The gallery of the lords of the House of Unterbach and their coats of arms are to be discovered elsewhere in Unterbach on the monument, which also serves as homeland and war memorial. The columns of the monument bear the names in time-correct sequence in stone. Further local historical buildings of Unterbach are mentioned at the former customs office at the eastern local entrance "at the Zault", the tubing mill and the association house.

House Unterbach was probably established in the times of the Carolingian dynasty. Probably from fear for the Hungarians, who burned down Gerresheim and its neighboring places nearly completely, the area was for the first time removed around 900 AD to the castle. As a knight's seat it is recorded in 1169 for the first time. Probably around 1300 it came then to the today's substantial development of the attachment with encircling walls up to 1.20 meters thick, four towers with walls up to two meters thick, surrounded by a broad water ditch. Parts of the circulating wall and three of the towers are still perceptible today, i.e. a gate tower, a court tower and a round tower. A further round tower, which was formerly on the left, was torn off at the height of the manor-house and integrated into this. Parts of the course bridge mechanism are likewise still to be seen in the gate tower. Beside it are still further authentic knight material stores in the towers. The towers are 10 meters high up to 9 meters in diameter. Probably one of them was in former times once higher. The garden plantings of the castle and the surrounding area were created by the well-known landscape architect Maximilian Friedrich Weyhe, to whose numerous works also belongs the Hofgarten and the world-famous Königsallee.

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